We are transgender people, professionals who work with transgender people, and spouses, families, and friends of transgender people. We are physicians, mental health professionals, attorneys, educators, executives, pilots, chefs, factory workers, fishermen, farmers, you name it. We are healthy and unashamed, and we have been putting on this fabulous one-week event called TransWeek (formally known as Fantasia Fair) every year since 1975.

52 Weeks a Year

Planning for TransWeek begins more than one year out. People from all walks of life work hard all year long to build a flawless and inexpensive TransWeek. There’s a lot to do, and doing it is immensely satisfying!

During TransWeek, volunteers staff the office, collect tickets, see to the needs of presenters, update the schedule, set up video equipment, take deposits to the bank, manage the Fashion Show and Follies, introduce speakers, and do a dozen and more other things. TransWeek would not be possible without them.

Professionals Donate Their Time

TransWeek would not be the TransWeek without its professionals. Psychologist Maureen Osborne and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Carole MacKenzie work throughout the week with partners of trans people and trans people themselves. Carolyn Wolf-Gould is the medical director of the Gender Wellness Center in Oneonta, NY. She runs the writing workshop, a space for exploring the written word as a way to build community with one another during TransWeek. Provincetown’s Dan McKeon takes professional photographs. Attendees with experience in a variety of industries provide their assistance as well

The Committee

The Planning Committee works throughout the year to plan and implement TransWeek. The committee maintains this website, publishes the Participants Guide and other TransWeek-related materials, manages registrations, solicits and selects speakers for the many workshops, sells ads, and publicizes TransWeek. They coordinate these many tasks by participating in bi-weekly telephone conferences.

In May, members of the committee travel to Provincetown to negotiate and sign contracts for banquets, lunches, and meeting space.

During TransWeek, the committee has hundreds of tasks, the most important of which are greeting and registering arriving attendees, staffing the TransWeek office, holding a welcoming reception on Monday, making sure meal counts are accurate, and depositing proceeds in the bank.

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Dee LaValle

Dee LaValle is from Massachusetts and has been a TransWeek attendee since 2015. Dee was named the TransWeek Executive Director back in 2018 and this event will be the seventh she has led. She was honored to receive the Fantasia Fair Award in 2021. Dee works for an international multimedia corporation. Dee has served on her company’s DEI task force and as a board of director for its PRIDE employee resource group. She has been honored to promote LGBTQIA+ awareness throughout her company. She and her spouse are proud parents to two young adult children. She is also a proud grandparent to two black kittens who with her adult black cat joined forces to continue to plot Dee’s demise. Dee enjoys skiing with her children in the winter. Since her spouse despises snow, they enjoy traveling in months that are snow-free.

Dee is the TransWeek Executive Director.

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Jolie LaValle

Jolie was born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, home of the first department store Santa. She is a graduate of Wellesley College. She and her spouse Dee have been married for 30 years (the blink of an eye). Her spouse came out to her as a transwoman in 2015. At press time, Dee, their daughter (now 23!) and son (19) and niece (24) are planning a Grand Tour of Lake Erie with stops in Twinsburg, OH, Detroit, Toronto and Niagara Falls. The goal is to swim (or at least dip their toes) in each of the Great Lakes. We won’t get to all of them this trip, but it’ll be an adventure!

Jennifer

Jennifer’s first Fair was in 2019. She has been a planning committee member since 2021. Not being an out or transitioning transwoman, Jennifer has made the most of, and enjoyed immensely, attending trans gatherings for the past decade and being herself. In addition to the Fair, she’s made many appearances at First Event and more recently Keystone. Jennifer is looking to contribute any way she can to make this year’s TransWeek a rousing success!

Lauren

Lauren is originally from the Midwest, but has spent most of her life in Georgia. She is married to a great guy and has been blessed with two kids. Her older child is part of the LGBTQ+ community, as are her parents.

Lauren attended her first FF in 2021 to support her parent, as she is a proud advocate and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. She fell in love with the attendees, the atmosphere, and the acceptance so much that she knew she wanted to return, join in, and help as much as possible.

Lauren was a member of the welcome committee in 2022

Janice

 Janice is a retired software release engineer for the Smithsonian Chandra X-ray telescope project.  She plays multiple instruments with varying degrees of proficiency, more recently concentrating on keyboards / organ.

Her other hobbies include playing Poker and Duplicate bridge where she is a certified club director by the ACBL and substitute on call for the MIT/DL bridge clubs and the Winchester. She also enjoys bicycle riding, having done tours of the US and Scotland.

Janice is still in the process of coming out as trans as she slowly puts the puzzle pieces of her life together. She is grateful for all the support she has received thus far in her journey.

Janice joined the Planning Committee in 2024.